USA women’s soccer team gets equal bonuses with men

On one side, there is a selection of behemoths, quadruple world champions, and the most successful nation in world football. On the other, a team with the status of eternal little thumb of international competitions, whose best result is obtaining third place in the World Cup… in 1930.

The women’s and men’s national football teams of the United States do not have the same track record at all. Yet, despite their more modest results, the men have long earned far greater bonuses from the national federation.

This unequal treatment ended this Wednesday, May 18, after the signing of an agreement between the national women’s and men’s teams and the federation. the Washington Post reveals the contours of this historic “deal”: “The new collective agreement will ‘equalize’ World Cup bonuses. FIFA will continue to pay the federations more for their participation in the men’s tournament than in the women’s tournament, but the two American teams will pool these bonuses and then share them equally.

Pioneers in this area, the United States will be the first country in the world to achieve premium parity. A result that was achieved after a long media battle by the women’s team, but also thanks to a small “sacrifice” of the men’s eleven. International defender Walker Zimmerman explains that he agreed enthusiastically:

“The first reaction was: ‘Await we’re going to have to give up what we already have?’ But now I think everyone is really proud to have made this deal and to be the first to have done it in the world.”

In addition to this issue of bonuses linked to results in international competitions, the salaries of the women’s and men’s teams will also be equalized. A decision had already been taken to this effect last February, also adopted by the Norwegian and Australian federations.

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